We wrote a letter to the paper on June 27. Following the site meeting on July 7, and in the absence of readily available information from Derbyshire County Council or Amber Valley Borough Council addressing highway safety issues relating to the development, we feel we must write again.

We are aware Derbyshire County Council has for many years consistently and successfully objected to applications for the proposed development of the above site with access from Nottingham Road on road safety grounds.

We are told by officers of Amber Valley Borough Council that Derbyshire County Council has no such objections in relation to the application.

We can only guess that the proposed traffic light-controlled junction has answered the road safety concerns of Derbyshire County Council for the movement of vehicles into and out of the proposed development (but at the cost of restricting the movement of traffic along Nottingham Road).

However, we believe both the officers of Derbyshire County Council and Amber Valley Borough Council have overlooked very serious road safety issues which will arise by reason of the proposed development.

Such road safety issues came to our attention as a consequence of the site visit.

In our experience vehicles tend to park along the southern side of Nottingham Road from number 232 towards the Sainsbury's roundabout but not between number 256 and the Moss Cottage public house.

On the site visit, vehicles were parked along the southern side of Nottingham Road from the Moss Cottage to number 208.

The proposed development incorporates two parking bays, one to the west of the proposed traffic light-controlled junction and the other to the east of number 258a.

The parking bays may mean westbound vehicles do not have to move into the centre of Nottingham Road to overtake parked vehicles and thus reduce the risk of collision with vehicles coming in the opposite direction, but the positions of the traffic light-controlled junction and the parking bays themselves would undoubtedly cause road safety issues.

After the site visit, when trying to enter Nottingham Road from Brickyard Lane visibility was obstructed in both directions by parked vehicles.

It was not safe to pull out into Nottingham Road. Such conditions would give rise to a real risk of accident for any residents using Brickyard Lane to enter Nottingham Road.

We suspect similar problems will arise from residents entering Nottingham Road from private driveways through the parking bays.

We calculate there are 16 properties serviced by Brickyard Lane and 12 properties with driveways or off-road parking which means vehicles must cross the proposed parking bays.

There must be a significant number of potentially dangerous vehicle movements associated with the residents leaving and returning on a daily basis.

We believe we have identified a number of road safety issues that give rise to real risks of danger to the residents of Nottingham Road and other road users who may or may not have been addressed in communications between Derbyshire County Council and Amber Valley Borough Council or the developers.

Perhaps the officers involved have been distracted by concentrating on the road safety issues associated with vehicle movements into and out of the proposed development site.

If such road safety issues have not been addressed, it is crucial that the officers re-evaluate their recommendations to approve the application.

David and Janet James
Nottingham Road
Ripley